M5.4 earthquake 147 km W of Neiafu, Tonga

Monday, April 13, 2026, 02:14:58 UTC · 18.457°S, 175.367°W

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 147 km W of Neiafu, Tonga on Monday, April 13, 2026, 02:14:58 UTC, at a depth of 228.8 km (intermediate). USGS received 3 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on March 24, 2026.

Magnitude: 5.4; Moderate · mww
Depth: 229 km; Intermediate
Felt reports: 3; Max intensity III
Est. shaking: III; Weak (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

2 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

46 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Tonga and Niuafo'ou plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: intermediate

229 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Neiafu, Vavaʿu, Tonga	II · Weak	2	271 km

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

Modelled from the ShakeMap and population data. Alert level green: low likelihood of casualties and damage.

III · Weak shaking: 13,000 people
II · Weak shaking: 7,200 people

Estimated shaking in nearby towns

NeiafuPopulation 7,400III · Weak

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS lists 13 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on April 30, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 2,038 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

1865M8.0
Tonga Islands
18 Nov 1865 · 228 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
2006M7.9
Tonga Islands
3 May 2006 · 232 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
2018M8.2
Fiji Islands
19 Aug 2018 · 297 km away · intensity V
tsunami
1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 176 km away
1902M7.8
Tonga Islands
9 Feb 1902 · 224 km away
1950M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Dec 1950 · 134 km away · intensity VI

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers